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Using Boops boops (osteichthyes) to assess microplastic ingestion in the Mediterranean Sea
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Researchers assessed microplastic ingestion in 884 Boops boops fish caught at 20 coastal sites across Spain, France, Italy, and Greece, finding microplastics in 46.8% of individuals with an average of 1.17 items per fish, predominantly filaments composed of polyethylene and polypropylene.
This study assesses microplastic ingestion in Boops boops at different geographical areas in the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 884 fish were caught at 20 coastal sites in Spain, France, Italy and Greece and analyzed using a common methodological protocol. Microplastics were found in 46.8% of the sampled fish, with an average number of items per individual of 1.17 ± 0.07. Filaments were the predominant shape type, while polyethylene and polypropylene were indicated by FTIR as the most common polymer types of ingested microplastics. The frequency of occurrence, as well as the abundance and proportion of types (size, shape, color and polymer) of ingested microplastics, varied among geographical areas. The spatial heterogeneity of the abundance of ingested microplastics was mainly related to the degree of coastal anthropogenic pressure at the sampling sites. Our findings further support the suitability of B. boops as bioindicator of microplastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea.
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Spatial variability and influence of biological parameters on microplastic ingestion by Boops boops (L.) along the Italian coasts (Western Mediterranean Sea)
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Researchers analyzed microplastic ingestion by Boops boops (bogue fish) across multiple Italian coastal sites in the Western Mediterranean, finding that ingestion rates varied by body size, season, and location, and that this widely consumed fish is a suitable bioindicator for microplastic monitoring.
High levels of microplastic ingestion by the semipelagic fish bogue Boops boops (L.) around the Balearic Islands
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Researchers found microplastics in 68% of bogue fish stomachs sampled in the Balearic Islands, with only fiber-type microplastics present. The high ingestion rate in this semi-pelagic Mediterranean fish suggests widespread exposure in the water column and raises concerns about plastic transfer through the food web in this sea.
Microplastic occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract and gill of bioindicator fish species in the northeastern Mediterranean
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Four commercial fish species from the northeastern Mediterranean were examined for microplastic presence in gastrointestinal tracts and gills, with plastics found in all species and fiber being the most common type. The results add to growing evidence that microplastic ingestion is routine for commercially harvested Mediterranean fish.
Microplastics occurrence in edible fish species (Mullus barbatus and Merluccius merluccius) collected in three different geographical sub-areas of the Mediterranean Sea
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Researchers examined the gastrointestinal tracts of 229 demersal fish from two Mediterranean species across three geographic sub-areas, finding microplastics in a significant portion of individuals with fibers as the dominant type. The study contributes to growing evidence that microplastic ingestion is widespread in commercially fished Mediterranean species.
Microplastics in the bogue, Boops boops: A snapshot of the past from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea
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Researchers found 180 plastic particles in 65 Boops boops specimens from the Gulf of Patti collected in 2010, representing the first Mediterranean record of microplastic ingestion in this species, with polypropylene and polyethylene fragments and fibers as the dominant forms.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.